Best Students Loans in South Africa & How to Qualify?

If you are getting higher education and you are not really very rich you must have thought at least once about getting the student loan. Because the study expenses are very high in South Africa, taking a higher degree is really very expensive.

It happens most of the time that most students are not eligible to pay university fees because they do not really have a good income source.

Fortunately, there is the possibility of taking student loans in South Africa that makes the impossible education attainable, easy, and affordable. With a simple student loan package, you can pay your registration fees, your stationery bills, and other necessary student material.

If you are the one who is looking for details about student loans in South Africa, read the details mentioned below and take financial assistance in the form of a student loan.

How to Qualify for Student Loans in South Africa?

If you are a student and looking to get a loan for your studies, the first thing that you have to pay attention to is what are the basic requirements for getting the loan approval.

Hereby, I am providing you with the necessary information that you have to keep in mind before applying for the loan.

The following is the list of documents that you must have to provide the institute which is providing you with the loan.

Proof of Academic Results

It depends on what was the last degree you have. You have to make sure that you are providing the institute that is providing you with the loan with proof that you have already cleared the last degree.

This means if you are in matric, you have to make sure that you are sending the bank the national senior certificate that usually arrives in January. Keeping that in mind make sure you have all the proof of your academic results and what was the last degree that you have cleared.

List of The Cost/Cost Proof

The next important thing that the institute demands from you to accept the application for a student loan is proof of costs. The bank will demand to see proof that you have certain expenses that must be fulfilled for your study purposes.

You can simply compile a list of the expenses including study materials like laptops, stationary textbooks, and their costs. Add tuition fees, accommodation fees, and food fees all three in it too. Keep it in mind and make a list of all the necessary expenses so you can get the loan as easily as possible.

FICA Documents

• FICA documents and person standing surety is also required by the financial institution to accept the loan application.
• These documents include proof of residence. Make sure the proof is no older than three months. And the residence proof should be of both student and surety.
• It will demand ID documents for both surety and student.
• The FICA documents also include 3 months’ pay slips of the surety and three months’ bank statements of the surety.

Acceptance Letter

This is one of the important things that you have to provide the institution to get accepted for a loan. Get the acceptance letter from the college you are going to study in. Photocopy it and take it with you.

On the other hand, you also have the option of presenting proof of enrolment or proof of registration in the college. This will work as proof that you are genuinely studying and you need financial assistance in the form of a loan.

As now we have learned about the necessary documents that you have to provide to get accepted by the institution you are willing to get a loan from, we will now move towards the best student loans facilities in South Africa and the institutes that are willing to pay financial help to the students.

Best Student Loans In South Africa

Following is the list of student loans that are available in South Africa so you can get help from there. All of these are reputable financial institutes and are known for having different rules and regulations for both repaying methods and plans.

Since all of these are different this makes it easier for you to select the one that is suitable for you according to your need.

Standard Bank Student loan

Standard Bank student loan comes with different choices of selecting from part-time student finance to full-time student. They also provide you with the opportunity to get laptops and study essentials under R20000. You can get the maximum loan of R60000 and not more than that.

On the other hand, tuition fees differ because the tuition fee of each college is different from one another. The next important thing about a standard Bank student loan is that it also provides students with an opportunity to enhance their loan limit and increase it if they need it.

If you want to study and are looking for the best bank to offer you easy repayment of the loan, look no further than Standard Bank South Africa.

FNB Student Loans

Where FNB is known to offer class services in South Africa, similarly they are renowned for providing finance choices for specifically those looking for study needs. This FNB student loan offers the students a maximum of R300,000.

This basically includes all the necessary fees that are needed for education that includes equipment fees, study material, stationery fees, laptop or other element devices, tuition fees, and accommodation fees. FNB student loans also provide students with the option to apply for annual funding; this means the loan you will get would be for 1 year. And this is mainly helpful for students who were studying for more than a year.

Nedbank Student Loans

Nedbank is another bank like the standard bank that offers full-time and part-time students both the loan service. If you are getting the loan as a full-time student, you will need to pay the monthly interest with the loan and as soon as your studies end, you will start to repay the loan with interest both.

On the other hand, those part-time students that are getting the loan should have to pay back the loan in addition to the interest right from the beginning. One thing that you have to keep in mind if you are getting a loan from Nedbank is that you have to apply every year if your studies last longer than 1 year. You have to submit proof of your results and that you have cleared your previous academic year.

All of this is necessary to make sure that the student is studying and needs the loan. Another important thing that you have to keep in mind if you are looking for getting a full-time student loan is that the Nedbank demands a guarantor for full-time students.

This is because they do not earn an income and for that, they have to provide a guarantee that would be responsible for monthly interest. The Nedbank loan facility covers study-related materials, textbooks, accommodation, and study charges.

ABSA Student Loan

ABSA student loan is another institute that provides students with loans to help them with their financial stress. These student loans are one of the best student loans that are offered with the lowest interest rates.

If you are looking for a student loan you have to make sure that you have more than R3000. Some other rules and regulations have to be fulfilled to make the loan application accepted.

You should be a South African citizen or should be living permanently in South Africa. The minimum amount that ABSA student loans offer is R15000 per annum. This covers almost 1 year’s education cost, including the tuition fee and relevant expenditures.

Plus if you are from the University of Technology, agriculture college, technical vocational education, and training college or are studying privately with SAQA and SETA-approved institutes you can get the loan.

Similarly, if you are studying in an online program that is approved by the government of the United Kingdom for higher education or the USDE, that is the United States Department of Education you can also apply for getting a loan.

Student Loans as Compared to Other Loans

If you are wondering, that student loan is similar to the other loans. It’s not like that. Student loans are different from other loans specifically in terms of paying back. The facility of taking loans is given to the students and in terms and conditions they are not required to pay back the loan within their study time.

After graduating, they are responsible for paying back the loan they have got for the study purpose. They are not asked to pay back the loans immediately. Although they are favored in this regard, they have to pay the monthly interest amount side by side.

Final Thoughts

Of course, if you are unable to pay your bills you would look for some alternative, and one of the best alternatives while living in South Africa is getting a student loan and studying. Student loan not only helps in managing the bills of your studies but also helps you in paying the food bills and other relevant stationary and study bills if you want.

Several institutes offer a wide range of student loans in South Africa. You can read the details of each of them in this guide or can search online to get the most detailed and relevant knowledge about those institutes and their rules and regulations.

Plus make sure to read the above article with full attention as it also tells you about the requirements that you will need to get the loan. You have to fulfill all of those requirements and then your loan will definitely be approved.